This invention relates to hydrotherapy heads or nozzles for spas and the like and systems thereof, more particularly to a replaceable rotatably hydrotherapy head or nozzle and systems thereof, and it is an object of the invention to provide an improved device and system of this nature.
Spas for health as well as enjoyment purposes are well-known and are becoming ever more popular. Such spas involve, briefly, a tank or container at the surface of the ground or floor into which water of varying temperatures mixed with air is pumped at relatively high pressure for impingement on the bodies of the people using the spa. The aerated water jets from openings in nozzles disposed in the floor and wall of the spa in the past have had a fixed orientation, and have been relatively difficult to replace when servicing is needed. A hydrotherapy nozzle in accordance with the invention is rotatable and thus provides a jet or stream of aerated water impinging on the bodies of users irrespective of location in the spa and the head is provided with threads for easy attachment to a spa wall so that whenever any existing head is to be replaced, it is a very simple matter to remove it and replace it with one according to the invention. The rotatable feature of the nozzle is provided by gear mechanism attached to the nozzle support itself so that no further separate mechanism is needed.
Rotatable valves wherein the rotation is achieved by water flowing through the valve and impinging upon an impeller which through an appropriate gear train drives the valve are known, as for example, in the Henry D. Gould U.S. Pat. No. 3,779,269. In addition to the size of valves of the Gould patent, the operating mechanism thereof is carried by the support structure. Hence Gould does not present the problems of manufacture involved in small therapy heads of the type forming the subject matter of this application. According to the invention the impeller and the connected gear train are supported by the rotating nozzle portion itself.
Hydrotherapeutic spa systems are also well known and include mechanisms for the entrainment of air in the circulating water. Reference, in this respect, may be made to U.S. Pat. No. 3,159,849, Jacuzzi, U.S. Pat. No. 3,943,580 Carter, and the U.S. Pat. to Neenan No. 4,320,541.